A woman believed to be selecting victims at random stabbed two people and hit five people with a car on a rampage through Prince George’s County, Maryland, on Thursday evening, authorities say.
The attacks left a 15-year-old girl with life-threatening injuries and a man with critical injuries, county police said.
Tanay Stallings-Brown, 31, of Baltimore, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault and charges related to hitting pedestrians. It wasn’t immediately clear if she has a lawyer.
The series of attacks continued for about an hour and a half. Detectives believe the attacks were random, Deputy Chief James McCreary said.
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A series of disturbing attacks
Police dispatch calls paint a chaotic picture.
“I don’t know if someone is riding around hitting people on purpose, but we’ve got one down,” one dispatcher can be heard saying.
On another call, the dispatcher said the driver hit someone, came back around and hit the victim again.
Police searched for evidence at four scenes.
Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland, news updates, events and information
At the first – at Forest Park Drive and Ritchie Road in Capitol Heights – a woman was struck by a car on the sidewalk at 5:05 p.m. The woman suffered minor injuries.
About 10 minutes later, two people were struck by the same car on Ritchie Road in Landover. A man suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but a 15-year-old was more seriously injured.
After striking the two, the driver got out and allegedly stabbed the 15-year-old.
About 5:30 p.m., the same driver apparently struck a man in the 1400 block Addison Road South in Capitol Heights, then another male victim in the 1000 block of Addison Road South. Those men also suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Then about an hour later, a woman hailed a taxi at a gas station in the 9100 block of Annapolis Road in Lanham. She got in, and after a few minutes allegedly stabbed the taxi driver.
The taxi was towed from the gas station, video from the scene shows.
Police released a surveillance image of the woman near a dark-colored sedan after determining one person was responsible for the violent crime spree. It was shared by law enforcement agencies across the region and with the community on social media.
“Detectives were able to determine we were looking for one person of interest – an adult female – in each of these cases,” McCreary said.
Here’s how police say they found the suspect
Detectives were able to identify the car used in the crimes as a dark-colored Chevrolet Malibu. The car was tracked and found in Baltimore, police said. It had a smashed windshield and significant damage to the front end.
Prince George’s County officers, with assistance from Baltimore police, saw Stallings-Brown get into the car at about 10:50 p.m., police said. They pulled her over in a traffic stop in the 2300 block of Washington Street, took her into custody and took her to Prince George’s County.
The county police chief thanked investigators.
“The crimes Stallings-Brown committed occurred across three different police divisions in span of an hour-and-a half. Commanders and investigators in each of these divisions worked aggressively to interview victims and witnesses and attempt to locate any video or images of the suspect. Investigators were able to determine the crimes were all linked and committed by one female suspect,” he said in a statement. “Within six hours of her first crime, PGPD detectives identified, located and arrested her in Baltimore. I am proud of each of these officers. They worked with a determination to arrest the suspect who would so brazenly come into our community and cause harm to six victims. We wish each of these victims well in their recoveries.”
The motive in the crimes is under investigation.
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“At this time, it appears she chose her victims at random,” police said.
Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.
Stay with NBC Washington for new details on this developing story.
